Device for rewinding the paper tape used for writing in calculating machines

ABSTRACT

A device for winding up in a roll the print-out paper issuing from a calculating machine comprising a rotatable take-up roller having a cantilevered take-up spool. The spool includes an axially aligned slider mounted in a groove in the spool which engages the inside of the core of the tape being collected. The floor of the groove is inwardly inclined and the slider is movable laterally in the groove and radially inwardly along the inclined floor, whereby upon such movement the slider disengages from the tape and allows the tape to be removed from the spool.

[march 20, 1973 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS DEVICE FOR REWINDING THE PAPER TAPE USED FOR WRITING IN CALCULATING MACHINES United States Patent Azzalin etal.

PATEr-HEDHARZOISH 3,721,398

SHEET 10F 3 INVENTORS BRUNO LIN BY FRANCES BETTINI BMM/Lw 564429 ATTORNEYS PATE-ITKUHARZOIUYS ggf/21,35%

SHEET 2 UF 3 lNVENTORS BRUNO AZZALIN BY FRANCESC BETTINI @Aa/l uf/W www ATTORNEYS ATTORNEYS DEVICE FOR REWINDING THE PAPER TAPE USED FOR WRITING IN CALCULATING MACHINES This invention relates to a device for rewinding the paper tape used for print-out in calculating machines, which enables a safe and'rapid removal of the paper roll from the device at the end of the rewinding operation, so as to permit reuse of this roll in a different machine, for instance a machine for optical reading of the characters printed on the tape.

With the widespread use of machines for optical reading it has become important to preserve for optical reading the tape rolls on which calculating machines of various kings effect print-out. Knowndevices used for the tape rewinding operation consist essentially of a roller on which the paper tape is wound. When removing the tape roll from the roller, the printed surface of the tape smears due to the relative sliding of adjacent turns of the tape under the action of the axial force which must be exerted in order to pull the roll of tape off the roller.

The object of the present invention is to obviate this disadvantage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the invention there is provided a device for winding up a print-out paper tape from a calculating machine, comprising a rotatable take-up roller having at least one slider housed in an axially extending groove but protruding therefrom, the slider being so mounted in the groove that it is axially movable in a first direction in response to the pull exerted as a wound up roll of tape is pulled off the roller and furthermore is movable in towards the axis of the roller in response to the axial movement, thereby to disengage from the inner hole of the roll of tape` For a better understanding of the present invention, there will now be described, by way of example, one particular embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. l is a left-hand diagrammatic side view, partly in section, of the device;

FIG. 2 is a section takenalong the line lI-II of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a section, taken along the line III-III of FIG. 2, of the take-up roller to a larger scale; and

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section of said take-up roller, taken along the lines IV-IV of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The device shown comprises a support frame 1 which is fastened to the upper side of a calculating machine, and a take-up roller 2, supported by the frame and whose axis is parallel to the axis of a paper supply roll 3 of the machine. A paper tape 4 (FIG. l), which is unwound'from the paper roll 3, passes around a printing roller 5 of the machine and is then rewound on the take-up roller 2. Print wheels 5a print numbers on the tape in well known manner.

`The support frame 1 of the take-up roller 2 comprises a pair of plates 6, 6' (FIG. 2), whose shape is more clearly shownin FIG. 1. The plates have `bracket portions 7 and 7' for fixing the plates by means of screws 8, 8 to the right-hand side of the calculating machine, and projecting parts 9 and 9' which protrude above the machine and from which the take-up roller 2 is cantilevered.

The plates 6, 6' are fixed to one another by means of a plurality of studs 10 (FIG. l), to whose ends the plates are secured, for instance by welding. The shape of the plates 6, 6', in correspondence with the upper side of the support frame, is defined so as to enable merge smoothly with a paper guide Il, with which the calculating machine is normally provided and which, as is well known, serves as support and sliding surface for the paper tape 4 while the latter is moving away from the printing roller 5.

On the shaft l2 (FIG. 2) of the printing roller 5 which shaft is normally provided on the calculating machine and to whose end, as shown at the right side of FIG. 2, a knob 13 is connected for manually turning the writing roller there is mounted a pulley 14, locked to the shaft in any suitable manner, as for instance by means of a grub screw 15 in a hub 16 integral with the pulley. A belt 17 runs around the pulley 14, a pair of guide pulleys 18 and another pulley 19, which is fixed on a shaft 20 of the take-up roller 2 by means of an integral bush or sleeve 2l and a grub screw 22. The shaft 20 is journalled in bearings 23, made, for instance, of a synthetic plastics material, and housed in the plates 6 and 6.

The guide pulleys 18 serve solely for permitting the two runs of the belt 17 to pass through a slot 24 of small size provided in an upper plate of the calculating machine, this plate being interposed between the roller 5 and the take-up roller 2, along the path of the belt 17. Each of the two pulleys 18, as shown in FIG. 2, has an asymmetrical profile, being provided with a rim 2S of greater diameter towards the inside of the support frame 1, in order to support each run of the belt which, owing to the deformation to which it is subjected, will tend to apply to the rims 25 axial pressures directed towards the inside of the frame.

The pulleys 11.8 are carried by a spindle 26, which is journalled between the plates 6 and 6' in any suitable manner, for instance as shown in FIG. 2 being retained by means of a circlip inserted in an annular groove of the spindle 26.

A flange 27 (see FIG. 4), provided with a hub 28 is received on a section 20 of the shaft 20 (as shown on the right side of FIG. 4). A spool 29 fits over the shaft 20 and has a bore with a first cylindrical portion 30 fitting round the outer surface of the hub 28, and a second cylindrical portion 3l tting round an end section 20" of the shaft 20, the intermediate part of the bore being slightly tapered.

Inside a flat cylindrical recess 33 of the disk 27 a flat spring 34 is housed. This spring has a central hub 34 abutting a shoulder of the shaft 20 and fastened to the latter in any suitable manner, for instance by forcing a non-circular aperture in the hub 34 over a correspondingly shaped portion of the section 20' of the shaft 20. Two resilient blades orarms 34" protrude from opposite sides of the hub 34' and bear against the flat bottom of the cylindricalrecess 33 of the disk 27. The spring 34, associated with the`disk 27, therefore forms a friction clutch'fortransmitting the motion of the shaft 20 to the disk 27 Along the housed; outer, substantially cylindrical surface of the spool 29 is formed a longitudinal groove 3S of V-shaped cross section (FIGS. 3 and 4), parallel to the axis, and inside which a wire spring 36 is hoursetl; this spring is formed by a wire of substantially circular cross section, one end of which is so shaped as to form a ring 37, connected with the resilient portion of the spring by means of a short straight section 38, which is perpendicular to the wire. The ring 37 is housed in an annular groove, provided in the hub portion 28 of the disk 27 (FIG. 4), whereas the straight section 38 is housed in a short radial groove 39 provided in the disk. Therefore, when the shaft rotates the disk 27 through the friction clutch described above` the spool 29 will also be caused to rotate by virtue of the coupling of the straight section 38 of the spring 36 with the radial groove of the disk 27, while the resilient portion of the spring is coupled with the longitudinal groove 35.

Further, at the free end of the wire spring 36 is provided, in the spool 29, a small recess 40 which enables the end of the spring to be grasped, for a purpose which will be explained below.

In the peripheral surface of the spool 29, and in a diam ctrical plane'perpendicular to the plane of the longitudinal groove 35, are provided, on diametrically opposed sides, two longitudinal grooves 4l (FIG. 3), substantially T-shaped in cross section, each of which is defined by a pair of flat parallel walls 42, as well as by a bottom wall 43 of curved cross section and a pair of flat parallel walls 44, whose spacing is less than that of the walls 42, so as to define two projecting parts 45. Each of the bottom walls 43 comprises, as can be seen from FIG. 4, three straight sections 43', 43" and 43"', placed at different distances from the axis of the spool 29 and connected to one another by short sloping sections 46.

Inside each of the two grooves 41 there is housed a slider 47, in the form of a strip with a pair of flat major faces 48 parallel to one another (FIG. 3) and a pair of rounded edges 49. The inner edges 49 are each provided with two heads or enlarged portions 50 (FIGS. 3 and 4), each of which has a curved face bearing against the curved bottom 43 of the groove.

Each slider 47 is restrained in its groove 41 by housing the heads 50 in the widest portion of the groove, while the strip slides between the protruding portions 45. The outer edge 49 of each slider protrudes outside of spool 29 and is ribbed so as to grip the paper wound thereon.

Further, each slider 47 has at one end a short pin 51 on which is centered a coil spring 52, which is compressed by a washer 55 retained by the head S3 of a screw 54, screwed in the end section 20" of the shaft 20. The washer can rotate relative to the shaft 20 when the friction clutch 27, 34 slips.

When each slider 47 is its position of rest, as shown in FIG. 3, under the action of the axial bias towards the right hand side of the figure, generated by the spring 52, the heads 50 will abut against the bottom walls 43', 43" of the groove 41. By exerting a slight pull on the slider 47, directed toward the left hand side as seen in FIG. 4, and simultaneously a push in toward the axis of the spool 29, the heads 50 will slide down the sloping sections 46 and bear against the sections 43" and 43" of the bottom wall 43.

The support frame of the roller 2 (FIG. l) can be closed by means of a cover plate 56, suitably made of plastic material, which is clipped on two studs 10 by two pairs of integral hooks 57.

The operation of the tape rewinding device is as follows:

When the paper tape 4 is unwound from the roll 3 (provided in the calculating machine), it follows the path shown in chain lines in FIG. l, passing around the printing roller 5 and then sliding over the guide plate 11. The end of the paper tape has to be captured beneath the spring wire 36 in the groove 35, by lifting the free end of the spring at the recess 40.

During operation of the calculating machine, the pulley 14 rotates the belt 17, which in turn drives the shaft 20 of the take-up roller 2 through the pulley 19. Motion is transmitted from the shaft to the spool 29 through the friction clutch formed by the spring 34 and the disk 27. This clutch, besides providing for smooth transmission of the motion to the take-up roller 2, allows slip to occur (under the restraint of the tensioned paper) when, with the increase of the diameter of the paper roll wound around the take-up roller 2, the angular speed of rotation of the spool 29 must be reduced.

To remove the paper roll wound around the take-up roller 2, it is simply necessary to exert with the left hand, on the outer surface of said roll, a slight pull in the axial direction toward the left, as seen in FIG. 4. As a result of this pull, the ribbed sliders 47 will be pulled in the same direction together with the paper roll, by virtue of the grip of the roll thereon. After a short stroke of the sliders 47, towards the left hand side of FIG. 4, the heads 50 (which initially coact with the section 43', 43" of the bottom walls of the grooves 41), will be brought into cooperation with the sections 43 and 43"', by sliding down the sloping sections 46, thereby enabling the sliders 47 to move. in towards the axis of the spool 29 and therefore to move away from the inner hole of the paper roll.

By suitably choosing the rate of the springs 52, it will be possible to cause the movement of the sliders 47 to occur under action of a predetermined force, as small as required and such as to not give rise to sliding movements between adjacent layers of the paper tape wound around the take-up roller 2, when the paper roll is grasped round its outer surface and pulled off. The inner end of the tape easily slips from underneath the spring 36.

The device described above can be fitted to calculating machines of any kind in an extremely simple and rapid manner, the support frame 1 of the take-up roller 2 being simply fastened, by means of screws, to the casing of the calculating machine solely by means of the bracket portions 7 and 7' of the plates 6 and 6'. Further, the transmission of the motion from the shaft l2 of the printing roller 5 to the shaft 20 of the take-up roller 2 is attained by utilizing means (such as the drive belt 17) which require only a small slot 24 to be provided in the upper wall of the machine housing. W

What we claim is:

l. Device for winding up in a roll the print-out tape issuing from a calculating machine comprising a rotatable take-up spool upon which said print-out tape is collected in a tape roll forming an inner hole about said spool, said spool including at least one axially extending groove having a tape roll slider axially slidably mounted therein, and a second axially extending groove housing a wire spring for securing the leading end of a paper tape inserted thereunder, said slider normally engaging the surface of said inner hole, a spring located between said slider and said spool for biasing said slider axially in a first direction into said normal engagement with said inner hole, and cams engaging said slider and enabling said slider to be moved inwardly radially in response to an axial displacement in said groove from said normal engagement in a direction to disengage from said surface of said inner hole, thus allowing said roll to be easily removed from said spool, said slider being axially displaced in said opposite direction by the friction exerted by said tape roll in response to manual axial pull exerted on said tape roll.

2. Device as set forth in claim l, wherein said cam means comprises a portion of a floor included in said groove and inclined outwardly in said first direction.

3. Dev'ice as set forth in claim 2, wherein said spool is rotatably mounted on a drive shaft through a friction clutch.

4. Device as set forth in claim 3, wherein said spool is rotatably mounted on a drive shaft and is coupled thereto through a friction clutch comprising a disk rotationally fast with said spool and a spring which has a central portion rotationally fast with said shaft and a resilient arm projecting radially from the central portion and bearing against said disk.

5 Device as set forth in claim 4 wherein said disk has y, a hub which is mounted rotatably on said drive shaft and is received in a cylindrical bore at one end of said spool, and a cylindrical bore at the other end of said spool receiving the end of said drive shaft, to which end is attached an abutment which is rotatable relative to said shaft, said spring acting betweensaid abutment and said slider.

6. Device as set forth in claim 4, wherein said wire spring comprises a ring portion received in an annular groove in said hub and an intermediate portion extending out from said ring portion through a radial groove in said disk, whereby said spring serves to render said disk and said spool rotationally fast.

7. Device as set forth in claim il, wherein said spool is mounted on a drive shaft'which is journalled in and cantilevered from two attached spaced plates provided with mean for affixing said plates to a calculating machine so as to support said spool over said calculating machine.

8. Device a set forth in claim 7, wherein said calculating machine has a printing roller mounted on a shaft in a housing, and further including belt means driving said take-up spool from said printing roller.

9. Device for winding up in a roll the print-out tape issuing from a calculating machine comprising a rotatable take-up spool upon which said print-out tap'e is collected in a roll forming an inner hole about said spool, said spool including at least one axially extending groove having a tape roll slider axially slideably mounted therein, said groove further including an interior portion of enlarged cross-section, and said slider having a projection engaging said portion to prevent said slider from moving radially out of said groove, said slider normally engaging the surface of said inner hole, a spring located between said slider and said spool for biasing said slider axially in a first direction into said norm engagement with said inner hole, and cams engaging said slider and enabling said slider to be moved inwardly radially in response to axial displacement in said groove from said normal engagement in a direction to disengage from said surface of said inner hole, thus allowing said roll to be easily removed from said spool, said slider being axially displaced in said opposite direction by the friction exerted by said tape roll in response to manual pull exerted on said tape roll.

*l* 2k 1k li =l 

1. Device for winding up in a roll the print-out tape issuing from a calculating machine comprising a rotatable take-up spool upon which said print-out tape is collected in a tape roll forming an inner hole about said spool, said spool including at least one axially extending groove having a tape roll slider axially slidably mounted therein, and a second axially extending groove housing a wire spring for securing the leading end of a paper tape inserted thereunder, said slider normally engaging the surface of said inner hole, a spring located between said slider and said spool for biasing said slider axially in a first direction into said normal engagement with said inner hole, and cams engaging said slider and enabling said slider to be moved inwardly radially in response to an axial displacement in said groove from said normal engagement in a direction to disengage from said surface of said inner hole, thus allowing said roll to be easily removed from said spool, said slider being axially displaced in said opposite direction by the friction exerted by said tape roll in response to manual axial pull exerted on said tape roll.
 2. Device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said cam means comprises a portion of a floor included in said groove and inclined outwardly in said first direction.
 3. Device as set forth in claim 2, wherein said spool is rotatably mounted on a drive shaft through a friction clutch.
 4. Device as set forth in claim 3, wherein said spool is rotatably mounted on a drive shaft and is coupled thereto through a friction clutch comprising a disk rotationally fast with said spool and a spring which has a central portion rotationally fast with said shaft and a resilient arm projecting radially from the central portion and bearing against said disk.
 5. Device as set forth in claim 4 wherein said disk has a hub which is mounted rotatably on said drive shaft and is received in a cylindrical bore at one end of said spool, and a cylindrical bore at the other end of said spool receiving the end of said drive shaft, to which end is attached an abutment which is rotatable relative to said shaft, said spring acting between said abutment and said slider.
 6. Device as set forth in claim 4, wherein said wire spring comprises a ring portion received in an annular groove in said hub and an intermediate portion extending out from said ring portion through a radial groove in said disk, whereby said spring serves to render said disk and said spool rotationally fast.
 7. Device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said spool is mounted on a drive shaft which is journalled in and cantilevered from two attached spaced plates provided with mean for affixing said plates to a calculating machine so as to support said spool over said calculating machine.
 8. Device a set forth in claim 7, wherein said calculating machine has a printing roller mounted on a shaft in a housing, and further including belt means driving said take-up spool from said printing roller.
 9. Device for winding up in a roll the print-out tape issuing from a calculating machine comprising a rotatable take-up spool upon which said print-out tape is collected in a roll forming an inner hole about said spool, said spool including at least one axially extending groove having a tape roll slider axially slideably mounted therein, said groove further including an interior portion of enlarged cross-section, and said slider having a projection engaging said portion to prevent said slider from moving radially out of said groove, said slider normally engaging the surface of said inner hole, a spring located between said slider and said spool for biasing said slider axially in a first direction into said normal engagement with said inner hole, and cams engaging said slider and enabling said slider to be moved inwardly radially in response to axial displacement in said groove from said normal engagement in a direction to disengage from said surface of said inner hole, thus allowing said roll to be easily removed from said spool, said slider being axially displaced in said opposite direction by the friction exerted by said tape roll in response to manual pull exerted on said tape roll. 